Fallout: Rise of Nuka-Girl
by coastierks
Summary: John-Caleb Bradberton wasn't the only surprise Sierra Petrovita discovered in the Nuka World Vault. A genetically engineered woman preserved in a vat of Quantum will awaken after two centuries, and will use her powers and skill to become the Commonwealth's first superhero: Nuka-Girl.
1. Genesis

**Note: Hello to all of my fans! I usually don't do two stories at once but this idea got a hold of me a couple of weeks ago after I played the Nuka World DLC and decided to go for it. I will still be working on Fallout New Vegas: Rise of a Nation, so don't worry. This story will take place a couple of years after the main story I will eventually be writing about Fallout 4, so I am going to do my best not to give too much away. I hope you enjoy this.**

* * *

Genesis

Sierra Petrovita could barely see through the tears in her eyes. "Please, Mr. Bradberton!" She pleaded. "You can't do this!"

John Bradberton - or rather, the head of John Bradberton - remained adamant in his resolve. "I am sorry, my dear but the time has come. Though I have found our conversations these past few months to be - stimulating, I'm afraid I can no longer go on like this. I have lived far too long."

"No!" Sierra shrieked. "You….you've done so much to bring joy to this world. The people need a mind like yours more than ever!"

A slight smile appeared on John's face. "That is one of the reasons why I must die, Sierra."

"I don't….I don't understand."

"Do you remember what I told you about the Vault?"

Sierra stared down at the ground. "Yes….your weapons." She practically choked on the last word.

The head shook. "No, Sierra. I gave the prototypes to the military long ago - for all the good it did them. I used their technology to create something better….something that could _help_ this world." He betrayed a slight smirk. "Though I confess, I was also hoping that the publicity would help restore my company."

Sierra's tear filled eyes seemed to light up. "What is it?"

"You will have to see it to understand….and you know what that means."

"Yes….you have to die for the Vault to be opened." her voice was trembling. "But….there's still so much you can do…."

"There is nothing more that I can do. What is in that Vault will be my legacy." He stared into her eyes. "You _must_ do this for me, Sierra. You must also promise me that you will not allow my creation to fall into the hands of these Raiders. The results will be catastrophic. Promise me, Sierra."

The young woman's voice was barely above a whisper. "I….promise."

John Bradberton smiled. "That's my girl. Now go, my dear - and thank you. You have been my joy….but now it is finished. I am ready."

Another flood of tears threatened to overwhelm Sierra. These past few months here in Nuka World had been a dream come true. When she arrived the most she'd hoped to find would be a copy of the coveted Nuka Cola recipe. But when she discovered the head of Nuka Cola's creator John Bradberton being kept _alive_ down here, she felt like the luckiest woman in the world. They spent hours talking about Nuka Cola, how it began and how the company grew to the powerhouse of the old world. But now, even those conversations were not enough to give John a reason to live. He had been down in this Vault since the bombs fell….alone and unable to move.

It was a pitiful existence….and deep down, Sierra knew it. She placed her hand on the glass case containing the head one last time, wishing she could touch the man who had inspired her just once. "Goodbye."

Sierra's legs felt like they weighed a ton as she walked over to the breaker panel. Her hand was trembling as she gripped the switch, and it felt as though her heart was about to break out of her chest. She closed her eyes, held her breath, and with one swift motion pulled the lever. The machines keeping John alive powered down, and his life signs immediately began to slow.

"Finally." he sighed before all brain function ceased.

Sierra felt her knees buckle and she found herself on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She had just ended the life of one of the greatest men in history, and she felt sick to her stomach.

Her moment of grief was interrupted by the sound of a large metal door unlocking, and then screeching open. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Sierra slowly stood up and made her way towards the now opened section of the Vault. As she stepped through the doorway a series of lights and machinery turned on….and what she saw made her gasp.

On the left side of the room were a series of strange machines which were connected to what looked like vats of nuka cola quantum. Several tubes were coming out of the vats, and Sierra followed them to an even larger glass vat in the center of the Vault. Sierra carefully inched closer to it, her eyes fixated on what was inside. Or rather…. _who_ was inside.

The naked woman looked to be between twenty and twenty-five years old and had a slender, very attractive build. What looked like a respirator was attached to her mouth, and several tubes were connected to her arms and legs. The young woman was in the upright position being held in place by a metal rack and harness. It was impossible for Sierra to determine the woman's hair or skin color because she was completely submerged in quantum.

Sierra's mouth hung open as she stared for what seemed like an eternity. _This_ is what John was talking about? How was this poor girl going to help the world? She managed to pry her eyes off the strange sight and scanned the other side of the room. There were several shelves lining the wall containing bottles of nuka cola….but they were bottles that Sierra had never seen before - and she had seen them all. Next to these were two Thirst Zappers - the trademark squirt gun of the Nuka Cola corporation, but these too, looked different than any Thirst Zappers Sierra had ever come across. There were also two weeks worth of MRE's and purified water, along with several holotapes. But what got Sierra's attention more than anything was what was next to the shelves. A lone female mannequin stood wearing a white space suit that Sierra did recognize….and her jaw hit the floor. "Oh my God!"

She carefully approached the glass vat, her eyes never leaving the unconscious woman. Sierra's hand was trembling as she placed it on the glass and wiped the condensation away. Her voice was barely above a whisper. "Nuka G…."

The woman's eyes shot wide open, causing Sierra to yelp and leap back away from the vat. As she stood there trying to regain control of her breathing, she could see the young woman begin to twitch. Suddenly the machines keeping her alive seemed to awaken as well, and Sierra began to back away; not sure of what was happening.

The sound of a door slamming open and footsteps got Sierra's attention, and panic began to fill her. "Oh no! Raiders!"

Remembering her last promise to John, she frantically tried to figure out what to do. She ran over to the vat and stared at the young woman and she too, seemed to begin to panic as she struggled against the harness.

"It's….it's okay!" Sierra shouted with her hand up. "I'm going to get you out."

The young woman's eyes met hers, and though Sierra wasn't sure if she could hear her, the young woman seemed to calm down. Sierra could hear the Raiders coming closer, and she ran over to the machines looking for something - anything that would help her to get the woman out of the vat. "Okay, okay. Ummmmm….okay. Ohhhhh, I'm not good at this…."

The screen in front of her suddenly came to life and the words 'Initiate waking sequence?' appeared. Sierra held her breath as she gently pushed the start button on the screen.

An alarm suddenly sounded and Sierra began to think that she had done something wrong. A drain suddenly opened at the bottom of the vat and the quantum began to quickly drain out. The young woman inside seemed to be getting anxious and struggled even more against her restraints. The level of quantum had fallen below her face, and for the first time Sierra could see that the young woman had shoulder length blonde hair, white skin and blue eyes. The level continued to fall until finally the vat was completely empty except for its occupant; who was struggling even more against her restraints. Then one of the restraints gave way and broke, followed by another and another, until finally she was free. Sierra stood frozen in place as the young woman ripped the respirator off of her face and as the glass slid open, she fell out of the vat and onto her knees.

Sierra wasn't sure if it was adrenaline which allowed her to break the harness, or if they had been deteriorated by exposure to the quantum. She would ponder this later, and she quickly snapped out of her trance and rushed over to the now freed woman. "It's okay, it's okay."

The young woman coughed up blue nuka cola quantum before finally taking her first breath. Sierra cautiously placed her hand on her shoulder. "You're okay. You're safe now."

"Well, well, well."

Both women were startled by the deep, male voice from the Vault's entrance. Sierra's heart sank as she looked up at it's source. There was no mistaking the man's mohawk, the patch on his right eye, and the yellow Raider armor that adorned him. As he took in the scene of the two women kneeling on the floor, and tooth filled grin appeared on his face. "Now what do we have here?"


	2. Rude Awakening

Rude Awakening

Porter Gage thought he'd seen it all during his time in the Commonwealth, but the sight before him was enough to take anyone for a loop. The fact that they were standing in what appeared to be a secret vault that had been under their noses the entire time was pushed aside by the two blonde females kneeling on the ground. The first one he recognized as that pesky Sierra Petrovita, the girl from the Capital Union who spend all day long asking stupid questions about Nuka-World. The other woman though….

She was as naked as the day she was born and covered in some kind of blue, glowing liquid. Before Gage could ask the obvious question, the silence was broken by one of the two Raiders (both from the Operators gang), that were in the room with him. "My, my….what a nice looking piece of meat!"

The woman lifted her head up and stared at the three men - all of whom were indeed staring at her as though she were a piece of meat.

"I say we take her to Mags and William." the other said.

The one with the metal eye patch shook his head. "No….we take her to the boss."

The first Raider groaned. "Colter! Fuck that! Mags and William will have a better…."

Gage turned and stared the Raider down. "You know the rules. Everything in this park belongs to the Boss, that means _he_ decides what happens to her. Understand?"

For a moment the two men just stared daggers at one another, and the two women held their breaths as they waited to see which one would blink first. Finally, the Operators Raider nodded in defeat. "Fine." He turned and began to step towards the naked woman, and Sierra began to panick.

"No, no, you can't take her….please!"

The Raider pushed her to the ground. "Out of my damn way!" He grabbed the young woman by the arm and roughly pulled her to her feet. The young woman's mind was racing at this point. She didn't know where she was, who these men were….or even who she was. In that moment she only knew one thing: this man was hurting her - and she didn't like that.

In what seemed like a blink of an eye the young woman yanked her arm free from the Raider's grip, then grabbed him by the throat with her left hand. As the Raider struggled to break free he was suddenly lifted off his feet, and everyone's eyes shot wide open. This tiny woman, who stood at a mere 5' 8" and weighed no more than one-hundred twenty-five pounds, was holding this large Raider with one arm. A second later the shock had worn off, and the second Operator smashed the butt of his AK-47 into the small of woman's back, causing her to drop the Raider to the ground.

The blow hurt the young woman, but it didn't stun her like the Raider expected and he swung his rifle to strike again. The woman grabbed it with both hands, stopping it cold. The Raider pushed on the rifle with all of his might, but the woman was not moving. In fact, it didn't look like she was even straining against him. Before he could comprehend what was happening, the Operator was thrown across the vault, rifle and all, and smashed into one of the vats filled with quantum.

A brutal blow to the back of the head caused the woman to stumble forward, but she quickly recovered and spun around. Porter Gage threw another punch, but the woman caught his fist and punched him square in the chest. The blow not only dented his metal armor, but Gage was sent flying through the vault door and landed flat on his back; the wind having been knocked out of him.

Sierra had been kneeling on the ground watching the entire spectacle with her mouth hung open. The young woman seemed equally surprised because she took a moment to stare at her shaking hands - as if she too, was wondering how she had managed to do what she had just done. A moment later her survival instincts kicked in and she rushed over to the shelves and grabbed a thirst zapper and one of the odd looking bottles of quantum. The young woman slapped the quantum into the thirst zapper's pistol grip and cocked the weapon.

'How did I know to do that?' she thought.

In the blink of an eye the young woman sprinted out of the vault, leaving behind a frantic Sierra Petrovita. "Wait! Don't go out there! WAIT!"

But the woman didn't listen. Still as naked as a jail bird, she made her way up the stairs to the main Nuka-Cola office and threw the front door open. For a moment she had to shield her eyes from the sun and she struggled to get her first glimpse of the outside world. It didn't take long for her eyes to adjust and the first thing she noticed were two armed men, wearing what looked like animal masks standing in the middle of the street. For a moment the young woman froze as the two men (who seemed just as surprised as she was) began to approach her.

"Hot damn!" one of them crowed. "Now where are you going, honey?"

Without saying a word the young woman tried to run around them, but the two animal masked Raiders attempted to block her path. "Come on, baby, we're not gonna hurt ya."

"Yeah….unless you're into that sort of thing."

As the two men laughed, the young woman's survival instinct kicked in again and she took off running, only this time, she plowed into both of the Raiders with the ferocity of a line backer, and both men were knocked to the ground. The attack didn't even seem to lessen the woman's stride and she continued to head toward what looked like a small doorway. It was being guarded by a female dressed in metal spiked armor, covered in blood, and after seeing what had just happened to the other two Raiders, she quickly drew a .44 caliber pistol from her belt. "Hey, hold it right…."

Before she could even get a shot off, the young woman had closed the distance, knocked the gun out of the way with her left hand and punched the Raider with her right; knocking her out cold. She ran through the doorway and took in her surroundings. A large circular pool of water was directly in front of her with a large structure overlooking it with the words "Fizzy Top Grill" on the front of it. Behind the structure was a mountain with what looked like a giant bottle leaning against it. The young woman's mind was racing as she took in these strange images. This place was strange - yet it seemed familiar to her at the same time.

Gunfire erupted, followed immediately by bullets strafing the ground in front of her, and the young woman took off running again. She could see Raiders coming from all directions and she pushed herself to the limit; desperation and fear driving her forward. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her lower right leg, and she immediately stumbled to the ground. She knew that she had been shot, and the young woman gritted her teeth as she fought the pain and struggled to get up. Just as she had managed to get back on her feet she realized she was surrounded by ten of the Raiders. Some wear dressed like the ones that attacked her in the vault, two wore the strange animal masks, and the rest were the armored females. Not knowing what else to do, the young woman pointed her thirst zapper at her attackers….and they immediately began laughing.

"Look at this, Nisha." One of the females sneered. "Blonde's got herself a water pistol!"

The one named Nisha, who was wearing a blood stained helmet with three blades sticking out of the top, remained silent as the other Raiders continued to laugh. The female who had mocked her stepped forward and spread her arms out. "Well go on….shoot me! Shoot me with your big, _bad_ water pistol!"

Whether it was out of desperation, or some sub-conscious knowledge of what would happen, the young woman would never know. In that moment, against all odds, she pulled the trigger….and the Raider disappeared in an explosion of blue flame and pink mist. For a moment she was just as surprised as the Raiders, but she quickly composed herself and fired again….then again and again. Two more Raiders were disintegrated in the volley, and the rest scattered to find cover.

The young woman took off running again….the pain in her leg it appears, had vanished. 'Must be the adrenaline', she told herself. By now more Raiders had arrived, including Porter Gage (who was clearly wincing from the pain of a few broken ribs).

A furious Nisha ran over to him. "What the _hell_ is going on, Gage?!"

Gage struggled to catch his breath. "I'll explain later. Get her!"

Nisha turned to the shell-shocked Raiders. "You heard'em! Get after her!"

Six of the Raiders shared a weary stare before taking off after the woman, who was already running out of the main area of the park. She continued to head north, not sure of where she was going, but she knew she had to get away from these people, whoever they were. The six Raiders were struggling to keep up with her, and took the occasional pot-shot at her to no avail. A sudden scream caused the young woman to stop and turn - and her eyes shot wide open at what she was seeing. Large, ugly worm like creatures had descended on the group of Raiders. Some were being dragged underground as they screamed for help, while some were frantically shooting in the ground, trying to save themselves.

One of the blood worms leaped from the ground in front of the woman, but she landed a punch with her left hand, and the creature was knocked away as if it were a fly. Another of the abominations charged her, but one well placed shot from her thirst zapper blew it to pieces. By now the remaining Raiders were either dead or running back to the park for the lives, and the young woman turned and continued running at full speed.

* * *

The sun was beginning to set when exhaustion and hunger finally began to take it's toll on the young woman. She wasn't sure how far she had run, but she could still see the park off in the distance. It would be dark soon, and she would have to find a safe place to sleep for the night. That, and some food and clothes would be nice. Her wound had miraculously healed, and it only added more mystery to her most pressing question: who and _what_ was she?

A sign up ahead read "Safari Adventure" and the young woman decided this might be a good place to settle down for the night. The empty, rusted cages and the smells indicated that this had been some kind of zoo. The animals, like everything else it seemed, were long dead. What had happened to cause all of this? Was the rest of the world as bleak and dismal as this place?

She could see a large structure in the trees up ahead. 'That should be as safe a place as any.' As she made her way towards it, a low growl to her left caused her to stop cold. Slowly turning, she could hear the footsteps of what was undoubtedly a large creature coming around the corner. A second later the creature came with in sight….and she was frozen with fear.

The creature stood at over eight feet tall, was covered in scales and had razor sharp teeth and claws. If it hadn't been on two legs, the young woman would have sworn it was an overgrown alligator, but clearly, this was another abomination like the worms she had encountered. The creature saw her, stomped it's right foot, and let out a terrifying scream. Steeling herself, the young woman raised her thirst zapper, but the creature's speed surprised her, and with one swipe of it's massive hand the young woman was knocked off her feet and slammed into a concrete wall. The blow caused her to see stars and drop her weapon. Through her blurry vision she could see the creature charging again, looking to finish off it's prey. At the last moment she rolled out of the way and took off running; the creature hot on her heels. She practically dove through an opening in one of the larger cages and the creature, unable to fit through the small opening, stopped his pursuit. But any hope the young woman had for escape quickly evaporated as the massive creature began ripping the bars to the cage apart. She frantically searched for a weapon or a means of escape, and she quickly picked up a large, six foot long steel pole. She gritted her teeth and tightened her grip on the weapon as she watched the creature pull down the last of the bars and charge towards her. Letting out a battle roar of her own she swung the poll with all her might, striking the creature across his head. The abomination reeled from the massive blow, and the young woman followed up with another, and the creature screamed in pain. She charged forward and drove the pole into the creature's exposed chest and pushed until it exploded out of it's back. The creature let out a blood curtailing scream as green blood poured from its wound, but it still managed to land another blow with it's massive claw.

The young woman was knocked across the cage, and slammed into the bars. A sharp pain shot through her right arm, and she was certain it was broken. The creature, though wounded, was still determined to finish off his prey, and he lumbered towards her; it's teeth dripping with saliva and green blood. The young woman closed her eyes; accepting her fate.

Just as the creature was about to strike, it roared in pain once again, and the young woman's eyes opened. The man was standing between her and the creature, his nearly naked body covered in muscles. Letting out his own battle roar, he struck the creature in the head with a massive sledge hammer, and the abomination staggered back. The man made a series of grunting sounds, and a moment later three large hairy creatures (that looked like gorillas) seemed to emerge from nowhere and descended on the doomed creature. The young woman watched as her would be rescuers beat the creature until finally it stopped moving.

As she struggled to remain conscious, the woman finally got a good look at the man who had saved her. He stood over six feet tall, had black hair, a beard and mustache. She noticed two small scars on the left side of his face, and he had brown eyes. As he stood over her, the man placed his hand on his massive chest. "Me Cito. You fight monsters. Cito fight monsters. Maybe stranger and Cito be friends, yes?"

 **Note: As you probably guess, I've made Nuka-Girl as strong as Wonder Woman and gave her a healing ability similar to Wolverines. This does not make her indestructible, she can be killed, but she can take a lot of punishment. Let me know what you all think about this story so far.**


	3. Who Am I

**Note: So sorry for the delay, guys. Writing two stories at once is more of a challenge than I thought.**

Who Am I?

The young woman woke with a start. The last thing she remembered was fighting for her life against a scaled abomination, before being rescued by that giant of a man. Now she was lying in a pile of hay covered in a warm (if be it rather foul smelling) blanket. She slowly sat up and took in her surroundings. She was lying on the floor in a large stone structure with caged enclosures on both sides. Both enclosures contained a dead tree and were covered in grass and a few strange looking glowing plants, indicating this must have been a habitat for some kind of animal. Her assumptions proved true when she heard a rustling sound to her right, and the young woman yelped in fright.

The creature was large and covered with hair, though there were many bald patches on it's body. It slowly made it's way over to her and stared at the frightened woman with curiosity. Even though she could not recall her own name, the young woman did recognize this creature as a gorilla, but something about it seemed….wrong.

"Chris!"

That voice. She'd heard it before. It belonged to the man who had rescued her the night before. The gorilla turned and the man calmly walked over to the massive beast until they were standing nearly eye to eye. She could hear a series of grunts coming from the man and surprisingly, the creature seemed to understand and slowly walked back into the enclosure.

"No worry about Chris." The man said. "He no hurt you. You help fight monsters. That make you friend."

The young woman found herself staring at him. He was well over six feet tall and covered with muscles, and though he wasn't naked, the wildman rags he was wearing left little to the imagination. This reminded the woman that underneath the blanket she was still naked, and she felt her cheeks flush. "Thank you….for saving my life yesterday."

The man just shrugged. "Cito saw lady fighting monster. Lady good fighter….strong as Cito. Cito help lady." He reached into a small sack and removed some clothing. "Here, Cito find clothes on people that do not move for lady." He walked over and handed them to her.

People that do not move. 'I hope he's talking about mannequins', she thought. She took the clothing, careful to not let the blanket drop beneath her breasts. It was a tattered pair of blue jeans, sneakers and a white T-shirt with the words "Nuka World" written on it. For some reason, those words made the woman's eyes go wide….as if they had some meaning but she couldn't figure out what. "Thank you." She noticed that he was still looking at her, and she felt her cheeks go flush again. "Could I um….have some privacy?"

At first Cito didn't know what she meant, but then he suddenly began blushing. "Oh….Cito go over there." He turned and walked into one of the enclosures, and once he was out of sight, the young woman stood up and began to get dressed. The clothes were a little big on her, but she figured it was better than them being too tight. Once she was finished, she called Cito over. "Okay….I'm finished."

Cito slowly came out of the enclosure, and he was followed by five more of the strange looking gorillas. "This is the rest of Cito's family. You met Chris….he's the biggest and strongest. What is your name?"

The question caused a feeling of panic inside the young woman. It was the same question she had been asking herself since….waking up. Her mind was racing to come up with an answer, and she looked down and began to stutter. 'Why can't I remember?!' She noticed a small tag pinned to her shirt and she turned it upright to read the words on it. Lisa, Nuka World Employee.

It was as good a name as any. "Lisa. My name is Lisa."

"Leeee-sa." Cito struggled to say. "Pretty name."

Without realizing it, the young woman, now known as Lisa, began to smile. "Thank you….for everything."

There was a moment of silent awkwardness between them that seemed to last forever. Finally, Lisa spoke up. "So Cito, how did you end up here?"

Cito hung his head. "Cito very small when first family die. First family look like Cito. Cito not die, just walk….and walk. Find zoo place." He raised his head, and a slight smile appeared on his face. "Find new family. New family help Cito. Give Cito food….give water. Keep Cito safe. Now Cito big and strong! Cito help family fight monsters."

"What are those monsters? Do you know where they're coming from?"

Cito shook his head. "Cito do not know. Family in danger. Hide here from Monsters. Here only place safe. Here have no food. Here have no water. Cito go outside to help family. Monster try to kill Cito. Cito kill many. More Monsters come. Never stop. Cito scared Monster hurt family."

Lisa was beginning to understand. As long as those monsters roamed the zoo grounds, Cito and his family couldn't forage for food and water. Which means they would either be killed by the monsters, or stay here and starve to death. "It sounds like there's a nest nearby. If we can find it…."

Cito began to shake his head. "Cito have story. Story help stop Monsters. Cito eat with family. Wrinkly Man come inside home. Wrinkly Man hurt. Cito try help. Wrinkly Man say he make Monsters! Cito mad at Wrinkly Man. Monsters hurt family. Wrinkly Man sorry Monsters hurt family. He give Cito shiny thing. He say shiny thing help Cito stop Monsters. Cito try help more but Wrinkly Man die. Cito put Wrinkly Man in ground but keep shiny thing."

Now Lisa was confused. She wondered why Cito called him Wrinkly man. Maybe because he was old? And a shiny thing? "Can I see this shiny thing?"

Cito smiled as he handed it over. "Cito give to friend. Friend help Cito find monsters."

Lisa studied the object. "It's a holotape." She blurted out. Wait….how did she know that."

Cito gave her a puzzled look. "New friend use strange words."

Lisa continued to study the holotape. A computer. That' what they needed. "Do you know where this wrinkly man came from?"

"Cito see Wrinkly Man come from Big Triangle House long time ago."

"Can you take me there? I think we'll find a way to stop the monsters there."

Cito's eyes seemed to light up. "New friend help Cito fight monsters?"

Lisa shrugged. "You saved my life….the least I can do is help you to save your family."

* * *

Colter, the "Overboss" of Nuka World, stood in the middle of the now open Vault taking in the scene. When he'd heard about the latest disturbance he thought that Gage, his right hand man, was on a bad jet trip. But after seeing the dead and wounded outside, and now the shambles of this Vault he was beginning to rethink that assumption. He turned around and faced his five lieutenants. In addition to Porter Gage, there was Mason - a monster of a man who was the leader of the gang known as "The Pack". To his right were Mags and William Black, the brother and sister duo who lead the Operators. Out of everyone in the room, the Black twins were the last two people anyone would figure to be Raiders. Word is they were born to one of the elite families from Diamond City, but decided to turn to a life or raiding because they were "bored." Finally there was Nisha, leader of the Disciples. They resembled a cult of sadists more than a gang of Raiders, and their fanaticism to their leader was rivaled only by the Children of Atom.

"Someone mind telling me how this Vault was under our noses the entire time, and no one knew about it?!" Colter growled.

At first no one spoke. Finally, Gage turned to Nisha. "Bring her in."

An annoyed sigh escaped from the gang leader as she turned and walked out of the Vault. A moment later she returned….dragging Sierra Petrovita inside and throwing her against the shelves lining the wall. The young woman had a bloody nose and lip, and was whimpering as she cowered against the wall.

Colter menacingly stepped up to Sierra, who seemed to shrink in his presence. "Start talking!"

Sierra was shaking so badly it was difficult for her to speak. "P-please! I don't know anything!"

Colter shrugged. "Well then I guess there's no point to keeping you alive. Nisha."

To Sierra's horror the armored covered woman drew a knife and rushed over to her; intent on slashing her throat.

"WAIT, WAIT, OKAY I'LL TELL YOU!"

Nisha held the knife still against Sierra's throat. "We're waiting."

Sierra took a moment to try and get her breathing under control. "The Vault belongs to John-Caleb Bradberton, the founder of Nuka World."

"That head you've been talking to down here for the last couple of months?" Colter asked.

Sierra nodded.

Mason stepped forward. "Then why didn't you tell us about it?"

"Because the only way it could be opened was if Bradberton died."

"What does that have to do with that woman who killed several of our people?" Mags asked in her usual stern, yet sultry voice.

Sierra hesitated….until Nisha cut a two inch gash into her left cheek. "I will carve you up if you don't start talking."

Sierra closed her eyes. "The woman….is Nuka-Girl."

Everyone's eyes shot wide open, and after a moment of stunned silence, it was broken by Gage. "You mean that woman on all the posters?"

Sierra responded with a desperate nod.

"This is bullshit!" William snapped. "She's either lying or crazy!"

"Please!" Sierra shrieked. "I swear I'm telling you the truth!"

Nisha cocked her head to the side as she studied the terrified woman's face. "Maybe you are, maybe you aren't. Thing is, that woman killed several of my people. Something like that demands punishment, and since you helped her that means you're responsible."

Nisha was about to strike when Mason stepped forward. "NO! She killed members of my Pack….she belongs to us!"

Nisha turned her head and stared daggers at the Pack leader. "Not until I get my pound of flesh, dog!"

Sierra stood in horror as the four gang members began arguing among themselves over who was going to kill her first. Her mind frantically searched for a way to get out of this, and being out of options, she steeled what little courage she had left and decided to bluff. "If you kill me there's going to be trouble!"

The bickering came to a sudden stop and the Vault was once again silent. Sierra could not believe that she had just blurted that out….and from the looks on their faces, neither could anyone else.

Colter leaned forward and got right in her face. "Do you care to repeat that?"

Sierra swallowed hard. "I'm a citizen of the Capital Union. I'm well known there….I run a museum and everything. If you kill me….they'll come looking for me." She paused for a moment and forced herself to look into his eyes. "And the government there hates Raiders."

The response she received was Mason's hand around her throat. "I don't give a shit WHAT you're a citizen of! We're gonna tear you apart…."

"Let her go." Colter said, he voice barely above a whisper.

You could've heard a pin drop inside the Vault. Everyone was staring at the Overboss as if he had two heads. Mason let go of Sierra and now faced off against his boss. "What was that?" He growled. "I don't believe I heard you correctly?"

Colter stood up straighter and stared Mason dead in the eye. "I said: Let. Her. Go! I don't want a war with the fucking Capital Union."

Mags, though she seemed the calmest of the gang leaders, crossed her arms. "And the woman who killed our people?"

Colter shrugged. "She's probably Deathclaw food by now. So unless you want to cut open the one who ate her….I suggest you all just accept that. The important thing is we have what's in this Vault. And as usual….you will all get a cut….after I take that sweet car that's down here." He began to walk past them out of the Vault.

"What about all of this equipment?" Gage asked.

Colter stopped and turned. "I don't care what you do with it. Sell it for scrap."

Gage didn't say anything as their Overboss made his way back to the surface. Nisha turned and gave Sierra the coldest stare she could muster. "If I ever see you again….I'm going to mail you back to the Capital piece by piece." She yanked Sierra by her shirt collar and threw her out of the Vault door. "Get out of here!"

Sierra ran as fast as she could. She ran out of the Vault, up the stairs into Bradberton's office, outside and continued to run out of the park. No one noticed the small holotape she had taken off the shelve she had been pinned against, and once she was out of site of the Raiders she tucked it away into her jacket. A part of her wanted to head straight back to the Capital…..but she had made a promise to John. Nuka-Girl….his greatest creation was out there, alone and scared.

No matter what horrors she had to face, Sierra was going to find her.

* * *

 **Goodneighbor….**

AJ was happy. It had been a good week of selling chems, and a new shipment had just arrived to his warehouse. Expanding his cliental to kids had been the smartest move he could've made, and at this rate he was going to expand his territory inside Goodneighbor. "Alright, let's get these boxes unpacked." He said to his six man crew. "I want to start distributing this stuff first thing in the morning."

One of his men, Mikey, took one of the boxes and headed to the far end of the warehouse and began to unpack the jet that was inside. He never heard the person who grabbed him from behind and snapped his neck.

Though there was no sound, one of the other gang members saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Mikey."

No answer. He placed the box down and slowly walked towards the dark corner. "Hey Mikey, you okay?"

He caught the glimpse of a shimmer spring from the corner, and unlike Mikey, he managed to let out a scream before being silenced forever.

AJ and the remaining four members of his crew heard the scream and drew their guns. "What the hell was that?"

The drug dealers spread out in the center of the warehouse, scanning the area looking for any movement.

Then, they heard a sinister laugh echo through the warehouse.

A chill went up AJ's spine. "WHO IS THAT!"

Then, a voice from the darkness said: "Peddling poison to kids, are we? Today you face, the _Silver Shroud_!"

AJ's mouth dropped open. Wasn't that the name of a comic book….

The smoke grenade exploded right in the center of the drug dealers, and before any of them could recover machine gun fire seemed to come from out of nowhere. Two of the gang members were killed in the first volley. AJ and the remaining two began firing blindly into the smoke, hoping for a lucky kill. For a split second AJ saw a glimmer moving through the smoke like a phantom and fired his pipe pistol until it was out of ammo. The phantom seemed to be everywhere and nowhere, and another of the drug dealers was gunned down.

AJ had had enough and managed to find the back door to the warehouse and ran down the alley. He could still hear gunfire, followed by a scream as she bolted around the corner and hid behind a dumpster. He was panting and shaking uncontrollably - so much so he was having trouble reloading his pipe pistol. Just as he managed to put in the last round, a pair of strong hands lifted him off his feet and slammed him against the wall. He forced himself to open his eyes….and he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

The man was wearing mirror reflective sunglasses, a black fedora and a black suit to match. His attire included a silver colored shroud neatly wrapped around his neck, and his hands were covered with black leather gloves. Though he couldn't see the man's eyes, AJ felt as though they were burning a hole inside of his head. "Listen….I'll give you anything you want, okay! All the money….the drugs….everything!"

The Shroud didn't say anything. He placed the silver plated .45 underneath AJ's chin and pulled the trigger.

 **Note: Before any of you ask, the Silver Shroud is NOT the Sole Survivor. He's a stand alone character. I hope you all like where this is going. Reviews are welcome.**


	4. Secrets of Nuka World

Secrets of Nuka World

 **Note: Happy New Year, everyone! Sorry this is so late...**

* * *

The Shroud limped into his small apartment in Goodneighbor, and after locking the door he sat down in a small chair in the kitchen. A grunt escaped from him as he examined his left leg. 'Just a flesh wound', he thought, but the bullet was still in there. Despite the additional armor on the inside of the Silver Shroud costume, one of AJ's goons managed a lucky hit.

After injecting himself with a stimpak and med-x, the Shroud removed his costume and opened his med kit. Once he'd removed the items required, The Shroud placed a metal rod onto a hot plate and turned it on high. After waiting a few minutes he placed a stick in his mouth, took a few deep breaths, and began to dig the bullet out of his leg with a pair of surgical tweezers. Even though the med-x helped with the pain the Shroud was grateful for the stick he was biting down on to muffle his cries. After what seemed like an eternity the bullet was yanked out, and the pain was momentarily replaced with a feeling of relief.

Taking a moment to catch his breath and clean out the wound, the Shroud braced himself for the next step. Seeing that the tip of the metal rod was glowing red hot, the costumed hero bit down on the stick once again, then quickly placed the rod onto his wound. The pain shot through his leg and the smell of burning flesh hit his nostrils. Fighting through the pain, he held the rod in place a few more seconds, nearly breaking the stick between his jaw. Finally he pulled the rod away, and collapsed into the seat.

After dressing his now cauterized wound, the Shroud made his way into the bathroom and splashed water on his face. Relieved that the dirt and grime was now removed, he took a moment to stare at himself in the mirror. The African-American face staring back at him looked older than he truly was, and there were days he felt older as well.

"What the hell are you doing?" He said to the image. There was a time when he knew the answer to that question….but these last couple of years it was becoming harder and harder to find a reason to put on that costume and head out into the mean streets of Goodneighbor. It seemed no matter what he did, no matter how many bad guys he put into the ground, the battle against evil was never ending. Shaking the thoughts from his head, the Shroud walked inside his small living room and plopped down on the old, ripped couch. He felt like he could sleep for a hundred years, but he knew sleep would not come easy. Looking to his left, he noticed the one picture he bothered to display in his run down dwelling. As the Shroud stared at the faded picture a flood of memories came back. A younger, less scared version of himself stood proudly holding an AK-47. Surrounding him was a group of people from all walks of life: scavengers, mercenaries, soldiers….even a few in Brotherhood power armor.

But there were two people in the photo that his attention was focused on. On his left side was a female, young and beautiful with brown eyes and long black hair. She is….was, the love of his life. And to the right was the person who once inspired him to make a difference in the world: The Vault Dweller from Vault 1….

The sound of someone outside his door caused the Shroud to jump to his feet and he drew his silver .45 pistol. A moment later a small piece of paper was slid under the door, and the Shroud could hear footsteps moving away from his apartment. The Shroud carefully made his way over to the door and stood off to the side. The cryptic message could be a trap made to lure him to the front of the door, and the Shroud had no intention of catching a shotgun or plasma blast through it. He pressed his ear to the wall and listened for any indication of someone waiting in the hallway outside, but there was nothing but silence. Quickly he reached down and snatched the paper and returned to cover. When he unfolded it the small item inside caused his mouth to drop open. It was a Silver Shroud calling card.

"Fuck!" He whispered. This meant that someone knew he was the Shroud….but who? And how did they manage to find out? As he examined the calling card closer he noticed something written on the back:

" _Come to the Old State House at noon tomorrow. We have something to discuss."_

 _John H._

The Shroud sighed. John H. could only be Hancock, the supposed "mayor" of Goodneighbor. 'Of course _he_ would know I'm the Shroud, which means he's probably going to ask me to take care of something for him.'

Lying down on the couch with his pistol by his side, the Shroud could only wonder what that something could be.

* * *

 **Nuka World….**

Both Lisa and Cito made their way inside the triangle shaped structure, and the first thing that greeted them was another of the scaled abominations. Luckily for them it was on the lower floor below the balcony they were on, which gave the two companions the high ground. As soon as the creature saw them it stomped it's feet and roared, and Lisa responded by firing her thirst zapper. The powerful blue beam struck the creature in it's left arm, blowing it off. It roared in pain, but it continued its charge and Lisa fired again.

Click.

Panic filled Lisa as she realized the strange pistol was out of ammo and what was worse, she didn't have anymore rounds. The creature turned and headed for the stairs on their right when Cito leaped into the air and brought his sledge hammer down on its head. Lisa heard a sickening crunch and the creature staggered back, but as Cito moved in for the kill the creature's tail slammed him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him.

"Cito!" Lisa leaped down off the balcony and charged at the creature, and just as it was about to strike, she grabbed it's massive tail and pulled with all her might. The abomination struggled to reach Cito but the unusually strong human kept it out of reach. Lisa gritted her teeth and strained with all her might until finally she threw the creature across the room, slamming it so hard into the wall that the creature's skull was fractured.

Once she was certain the creature was not getting up, Lisa ran over to Cito. "Are you alright?"

Cito was shaking his head. "Cito okay." He stared at the dead creature in awe, then looked at his companion. "Lisa saved Cito. Lisa smaller - more tiny than Cito….yet Lisa stronger than Cito. How?"

Lisa stared at the dead creature, then her eyes fell on her trembling hands. 'How was all of this possible?' Finally, she looked to her companion. "I don't know. I….can't remember where I'm from….or how I became….like this."

Cito stared at her for several minutes, until finally a smile appeared on his face. "That's okay. Cito not remember things from his past. Here…." he removed a rather brutal looking weapon that was strapped to his back…."friend need new weapon. Cito make this long ago. Friend use it to fight monsters."

Lisa took the weapon. It was an aluminum baseball bat with several spikes attached to the end of it. She began to test it out, and found that it was surprisingly well balanced, and there was a small rocket booster on the end that gave the user more power when brining the weapon down. "Thank you, Cito."

The primitive man smiled. "We find shiny thing that will help us beat monsters, yes?"

'Right', Lisa thought, have to focus on the task at hand. "There must be a computer in here somewhere. Come on."

It didn't take them long to find a working computer monitor mounted on the wall near a security door with a sign that read: Nuka-World Research Center .

"Cito never been through this door."

Lisa placed the holotape into the computer and found a single audio log on it. She pressed play, and a haggard sounding voice began to speak.

" _This is….doctor Darren McDermot….last known survivor {cough} at the Safari Adventure….Replication Facility. This is….my final recording. I've done something horrible….{cough}...the thing I created….the thing I called the Gatorclaw….{cough}...they must be destroyed! They can't be….tamed, they can't be controlled….{cough}...their sheer ferocity is like nothing I've ever seen. And now the Nuka-Gen….{cough}...Replicator is out of control. It's producing them at….an alarming rate. Please, somebody. Anybody! Find my passcode….or Dr. Hein's….{cough}. Shut down the Replicator before it's….{cough}...before it's too late!_

" _And if this recording should reach Dr….Hein. Please….{cough} tell him to….to forgive me."_

The recording ended and Lisa stood in silence as she pondered what she had just heard. It seemed this Dr. McDermot used something called a Replicator to create and then clone these….Gatorclaws….and that he had lost control of them and the machine. Lisa found it strange that a machine like this Replicator would be in a theme park….but then she remembered the Vault that she herself had awoken in, and her thoughts returned to the Gatorclaw she'd crushed with her bare hands. Was she the product of some mad scientist….a failed experiment that needed to be destroyed?

"Friend okay?"

Cito's question knocked Lisa out of her train of thought. "Yes….I'm, I'm fine. I'm going to see if there's anything else on this computer." The first file she opened was a security report, stating that the lab had been locked down due to security concerns of an animal rights group called the A.F.A.D. There was little doubt in Lisa's mind that this Replicator was somewhere through that door, but only Dr. Hein and Dr. McDermot had the access codes….and McDermot had taken his to the grave.

Lisa continued to search through the files and came across one titled "ransom note". It was apparently from members of this AFAD group claiming they had kidnapped Dr. Hein and were holding him hostage near the sight of something called The Angry Anaconda. It wasn't much of a lead, but it was something.

Lisa read the last file, most of which was encrypted, but it mentioned something called "Project Cobalt". She wondered if it had something to do with these Gatorclaws.

Or maybe….it was about her.

Just as she was about to shut down the terminal, Lisa began to remember something. An eight digit code consisting of letters and numbers began flashing in her mind. She wasn't sure what this code was, only that it was very important and it was vital that she remember it. For some reason she felt compelled to enter this code into the terminal and began typing.

Xx04f646.

She pressed enter and suddenly there was a loud mechanical sound which came from the door. 'Did it just unlock?' A moment later a new message appeared on the monitor:

 _CEO's override code accepted. Lockdown disengaged. Welcome Mr. Bradberton._

Bradberton. Lisa knew that name….but from where, she wasn't certain. Regardless of how she did it, the door to the lab was open, which meant she and Cito could shut down this Replicator. "Whatever's making these monsters is through this door. Are you ready?"

Cito tightened the grip on his sledge hammer and nodded. "Yes. Cito ready to end monsters!"

Lisa readied her own weapon, took a deep breath, and they both entered the lab.

* * *

 **Goodneighbor….**

The Shroud knocked on the door at the Old State House at exactly 12:00 pm. Two men wearing black suits, fedora hats and armed with thompson submachine guns opened the door and escorted him inside. As he climbed the spiral steps to the State House's top floor, the Shroud noticed more of the thompson wielding guards on every level. When he finally reached the top a rather serious looking woman with a scared face was waiting for him in front of two closed double doors. The Shroud knew this woman could only be the infamous Fahrenheit, Hancock's personal bodyguard and the leader of the "Neighborhood Watch"; which was the closest thing to a police force in Goodneighbor. One look on Fahrenheit's face and the Shroud knew she didn't like him. Maybe it was a general distrust of people, or maybe the "Police Chief" for lack of a better term was upset that someone else was cleaning up the streets of Goodneighbor.

"Listen up pale, I'm only gonna say this once. When you're in the presence of the mayor you show him respect. If you draw a weapon, you die. If you threaten him, you die. Got it?"

The Shroud nodded.

Fahrenheit looked him over one more time. "Man of few words….I like that." She turned and opened the doors and motioned for the Shroud to step inside. The room itself wasn't much: a couple of old couches, a few tables, a computer and what looked like a chemical bench against the opposite wall. Standing at that bench, with his back to the Shroud and wearing his trademark red coat and revolutionary war hat, was the mayor of Goodneighbor John Hancock. The Shroud kept a respectable distance from the mayor, yet he positioned himself so that he would know if anyone else entered the room behind him. Fahrenheit calmly sat down on one of the couches, and an awkward silence filled the room.

Hancock seemed to place a glass pipe to his lips, took a long breath, then slowly exhaled a long puff of smoke. "Guess what someone tells me?" The ghoul began, with his low gravelly voice. "Some costume freak is operating in Goodneighbor." He turned around and faced the Shroud. "And the kicker is it ain't me. How should I feel about this?"

"This neighborhood is ill. I am the cure."

From the corner of his eye, the Shroud saw Fahrenheit roll her eyes, and Hancock has to suppress the smile. "You're priceless. Like the Silver Shroud himself walked out of a comic book and into my den. Priceless. But for now, you can drop the act, okay. I know who you are….and before you ask, no - it wasn't your friend Kent Connolly."

Kent was the ghoul who ran the Silver Shroud radio show in Goodneighbor….and he was the one that convinced him to become the Shroud. Taking a deep breath, the costumed hero stepped out of character and used his regular voice. "If you've called me here to tell me to stop cleaning up these streets….I'm afraid we're going to have a problem."

"On the contrary," Hancock responded, "I respect what you've been doing. So far. But I gotta ask, one freak to another, why the get up?"

The Shroud took a moment to consider his answer. "I like to use theatricality as a weapon."

Hancock laughed. "I heard that….hell, that's why I wear this old suit. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me….but there's trouble heading your way, omigo. Those low-lives you took out all belong to the same asshole, and that asshole's planning some old-fashioned revenge on you. You dig? Fortunately for you, I want Sinjin to take a dirt nap. He's taken two bit Raider outfits and made them….scary. Small fish now, but if left alone…." He let the sentence tail off.

"Where can I find this Sinjin?"

"I'm glad you asked." Hancock took another hit from his glass pipe. "Got a lead on two of his own: Smiling Kate and Northy. Smiley is gathering a posse to take you out, but Northy is just running scared. He's hired a few goons and is hold up in Prospect. You take them out, and there's a good chance you'll find a lead on the big guy himself. Take care of Sinjin, and I'll be inclined to show you some gratitude. You feel me?"

The Shroud considered his options. He didn't like the idea of being someone's errand boy, but if Hancock was right, and this Sinjin was the man responsible for most of the crime in Goodneighbor, then it was his obligation to take him down.

That, and it was always better to hit your enemy first when he least expected it.

"I will take care of them….but for Goodneighbor…..not for you."

Hancock shrugged. "Hey, I respect that. Good luck."

WIthout saying another word, the Shroud turned and left Fahrenheit and Hancock alone in the office. "You know I've never questioned your judgement boss…."

Hancock sighed as he laid down on the couch. "Something tells me you're about to."

"...but are you sure we should trust this….nut job?"

The ghoul took another hit. "Listen babe…..I don't have to tell you that since the war with the Institute things haven't exactly been sunshine and rainbows around here. We can't count on the Minutemen. The Brotherhood's gone. And the Railroad…..well, we know what happened with them. So if that 'nut job' as you call him can help us to clean up some of this mess we're in…..then I consider that a good day."

Hancock closed his eyes and placed his hat over his face. Frustrated, Fahrenheit turned on her heels and left.

 **Note: I wanted to establish the Silver Shrouds character in this chapter. Next chapter I will go back to focusing more on Nuka-Girl and her back story. All feedback is welcome.**


End file.
